Kim Jong-un's wife has not been seen in public for over 40 days, sparking a rash of rumours over her "disappearance".

Despite appearing at the 'Dear Leaders' side for almost every official event since their marriage was announced, Ri Sol-Ju has now failed to accompany Kim Jong-un to a number of engagements where she would normally be seen.

With North Korea's silence on the matter only fuelling speculation, Chinese news agencies are reporting that Ri Sol-Ju is pregnant with her second child, pointing to pictures where she has only a slightly swollen belly.

However darker rumours suggest that Kim Jong-un's wife has fallen foul of North Korea's strict regime. Her modern hairstyle and Western dress have been the subject of much commentary since she first appeared at Kim's side earlier this year.

Has her refusal to wear the badge angered conservative North Koreans?

North Korea's aggressive nuclear arms programme and long-running animosity with the West means wearing her style of clothes is a huge statement in the communist nation. At one event she even appeared to be carrying a Chanel bag.

However she may have taken a for fashion a bit too far, wearing floral brooches instead of the required badge of Kim II-sung, a nod to the founder of North Korea's communist state.

According to pictures released by the state news agency, Ri Sol Ju only wore the badge once in her first public appearance, when it was not clear she was Kim Jong-un's wife.

Analysis on a North Korean news website said "the blame should fall on the shoulders of the propaganda department. After all, these are carefully staged events, so it is not a situation where she might accidentally forget to wear the badge."